Something to Declare

I am a great fan of Julia Alvarez's writing, and am also greatly appreciative of her strength of character as an inspirational Latina writer. Many of you may be familiar with her books "In the Time of Butterflies" and "How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents." In this book, we get a better sense of Julia Alvarez, the woman, the writer, the artist and (in her words) a "hyphenated American." (i.e, Dominican-American) These twenty-four essays offer a glimpse into her life, and what inspired her to persue writing. Alvarez had a lot of great material from her childhood, growing up the daughter of a revolutionary who was part of the opposition against Trujillo, the former dictator of the Dominican Republic. Julia also possessed a great wit and imagination, throughout her academic and personal life. We are so honored that this great woman decided to convey her thoughts and stories through writing. This is definitely her true talent. What a true inspiration for all aspiring writers (Latina and otherwise). This book is engaging, warmly accessible and insightful. Highly reccomended!

Alvarez has mined deeply into her childhood in Dominican Republic and her family's flight from Trujillo to Queens, NY, as sources for her lyrical fiction and poetry. At last she launches herself into nonfiction, and the result is Something to Declare. The book is a collection of 24 autobiographical essays focused on her life and her personal writing process. The first part chronicles her girlhood in DR, surrounded with a rich and varied cast of characters comprised of her huge family, the servants, her classmates and nursemaids. It ends with her family's escape to America and documents the beginning of the difficult assimilation process.In the second part of Something to Declare, Alvarez talks about her writing process, the difficulty balancing a writing life with teaching and her "real life," and concludes with her Ten Commandments for writing, a poster of which hangs above my computer. This book is a gift from Julia Alvarez to her many fans, and we thank her for it.

Ever since reading In the Time of the Butterflies, I have been convinced that Julia Alvarez was a gifted writer. This collection of her essays was purchased for our library to add to our creative writing teacher's curricular tools. I couldn't resist being the first to sample same. Alvarez has a way of talking to the reader that makes her essays ever so readable. I especially love the personal illuminations of her family in the Dominican Republic and in the states. What a fascinating immigrant story! One of my favorite essays is "Chasing the Butterfies" which put chills on me as I recalled the power in her novel that made me into her fan. I am not surprised that she is connected to the Bread Loaf writers. What quality comes from that group! I was a late-in-life discoverer of writers outside of the CANON, but I never again shall believe that only the canon has quality. The multicultural writers that I have discovered since 1992 as a member of the NEH sponsored Common Ground at the University of Houston, have enriched my life and the lives of my students. Any would be writer should read these Alvarez revelations. Being able to come and go from the entries makes the work so very user friendly. Brava, Julia!

In Something to Declare Julia Alvarez give us rich insights into the process of being a writer and living the full but difficult life of a bi-cultural citizen. Her book helped me a lot to understand my dual citizenship, but also it helped me to deal with the voices that fill my mind in at least two languages. A must for anyone who enjoys ethnic literature, or emmigrant fiction.

Julia Alvarez lets readers into her thoughts and imagination with a wonderfully readable collection of essays in "Something to Declare".